SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) are on trend - in the long term, this could have serious consequences for the planet. Because the higher and heavier vehicles consume significantly more fuel and emit more CO2 than a comparable car. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the CO2 emissions of the global SUV fleet have increased since 2010 by 0.55 gigatons to around 0.7 gigatons. Thus, the pseudo-road vehicles made the second largest contribution to the increase in global CO2 emissions since 2010, only the output of the energy sector rose during this period even more.
This is due to the success of the SUV, they sell better than any other cars. Their share of cars sold has increased steadily since 2010, from 17 percent to a whopping 39 percent in 2018. In the US, last year, even every second car sold was an SUV. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there are now 200 million SUVs worldwide, compared to 35 million in 2010.
Thus, the emissions of SUVs increased more than those of heavy industry, but also those of aviation and shipping. All economic sectors that consume energy were included, but CO2 released by land use is not part of these calculations. However, the increase in CO2 emissions is particularly serious in comparison with the other gasoline-powered passenger cars. According to IEA figures, their number increased from 822 million to 952 million from 2010 to 2018, but they have saved two million barrels of oil since 2010 - thanks to more efficient engines - every day.
SUVs could make 150 million e-cars ineffective
According to the IEA data, however, this efficiency gain was fueled by the new SUVs, which accounted for the total 3.3 million barrels per day increase in car oil demand from 2010 to 2018, while the consumption of all other types of vehicles over the same period decreased.
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ADAC Ecotest: These are the most environmentally friendly carsAccording to the IEA, the energy consumption of an SUV is about 25 percent higher than that of a medium-sized car, which could make it a long-term obstacle to reducing CO2 emissions. For if the trend towards the pseudo-land vehicle goes on, according to IEA data, it would not only increase global oil demand by around two million barrels a day by 2040 - it would also make the CO2 savings of around 150 million electric cars ineffective.
